I had an IG Stories Q&A with my followers on Instagram earlier today, and one of the questions that struck me is about GRAY ZONE.

When things were not yet complicated there were just: Married or In A Relationship. As we enter the new millennium new categories were used. Secret On, Friends With Benefits, FUBU and Dating to name a few. Then there came the millennial era where everything is complicated. I’m sure most of you heard of these terms: Ghosting, Friendzone, DTR, Lemming and Gray Zone.

So, what is a Gray Zone? Remember when people will say there are just 2 options, Black or White. If you are confused or lost and can not define what’s happening between you and the other person that you’ve been talking, kissing or spending most of your time with, that is the GRAY ZONE. It’s not a YES nor a NO. You’re not in a relationship but you are not just friends. What could be more blurry than this stupid area? Right?

So, the question was, “Have you been on Gray Zone?”. The answer is YES! Maybe because I am that type of person who is not particular with labels and DTR. As long as we get along and we are happy, I’m fine with it. Wait, only because I haven’t met that person who I will be defining something with.

Let me share a story.

A lot of you will agree that the best way to get over someone is to find someone new. I was talking to my best friend that time sharing my story about “this person”, let’s call this person: BIMBO. Bimbo broke my heart without Bimbo knowing it. We used to hang out everyday, we would call each other before sleeping and then one day it just stopped. No explanation, no whatever. Next morning, I saw Bimbo spending more time with CUTIE. It broke my heart that time, I even bought my first expensive bag because of that. I was very upset and my best friend said why not try meeting new people. She suggested that I should try talking to “that person”, let’s call that person: MASTERMIND. I’m not attracted to Mastermind at all but there’s this one time, I’m on my way to a meeting and I bumped into Mastermind inside the lift. I started a small talk and Mastermind started teasing me. From then on, we became secret friends. We would not talk when we see each other but we will send SMS and Facebook messenger chats. It went on for months and true enough, I forgot Bimbo. Though that secret friendship with Mastermind didn’t reach another level and we just lost it. Little did we know, the following months would be more colorful for us. Mastermind started hanging out with me. Mastermind would give me stuff I like and mind you, Mastermind did research pretty well. When people started to notice that there is something going on between us, I started ignoring Mastermind. The hanging out became a single nod when we see each other or worse not look at each other’s eyes at all. I thought it’s the end of our connection. Then came one afternoon of 2017, we started talking again and this time I thought it’s going to be different. Mastermind would send me messages or call me every hour, we would spend breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks together. I’ve started to feel something with what’s happening that time. Every time we would hold hands or kiss I can feel that there’s a different connection between us. People would ask us if we are already together and to me it didn’t feel right. We talked about it and came up with a mutual decision by not defining the relationship we have. It’s perfectly fine with me but a part of me wanted to try if we would click together. We can’t deny that the chemistry is very strong but it’s meant to be just like that. Mastermind is my soulmate, my best friend and my almost relationship. Eventually, I figured out I don’t want to be stuck on that zone, the Gray zone and it was a clever decision not to put a label on that relationship.

You know the signs are there but you just don’t want to deal with it. A part of you wants to believe that in time, this will be perfect. I tell you, it’s not a walk in the park. When you start asking yourself how he/she feels about you: “He likes me but is it enough?”, “She does enjoy spending time with me, does it mean she cares about me?”. Let me tell you straight to the point. He/She likes you but he/she doesn’t like you enough to be in a relationship with you. Chemistry is not an instant thing and compatibility doesn’t end in music, movies or food, it’s a special connection you have. Find that spark. You hang out almost everyday but he doesn’t want to make it official. You talk for hours but you don’t hear from her after. He refuses to be exclusive but doesn’t want to put label. She always tell you she misses you but there is no effort being made to spend time with you. If you see lack of liking then know your way out. If that’s how he/she feels about you, you can never change it. Don’t assume that he/she is the right person for you because obviously, he/she is not.

Do not focus on the things that you want to hear and disregard the things that stating the obvious. It’s like you are ignoring the truth and you’re just waiting for him/her to return the time and affection that you’ve been giving him/her. We can never force someone to feel something towards us because it will be painful in the end. Sometimes we think that he is just dropping clues because he can’t say it directly. We think that if we let this person go away, we’ve wasted the possibility of having a future with him. To be honest, from the very start it was very clear, there is no future in that relationship. If you’ve exerted much effort and he is still not interested in defining the relationship, you’ve done your part and it’s going to be a waste of time if you will continue pursuing this person. The right person will not let you guess and will take every opportunity to be with you. The next time you’ll be stuck in this Gray area ask yourself what led you to this situation. Do not repeat the same mistake and bring it in your next relationship. Make sure to do some soul searching or self realization so you can always come out of this area on the first sign of danger.

Truth is, getting over someone you never had is worse than an actual break-up. There will always be what if and what could have been .

I’ve visited Bali, Indonesia twice this year. The first was a short weekend with my Globe friends then followed by a 5-day trip with my cousins. As we all know, Bali is a tropical country surrounded by water. I must admit, I am not in my best form during both of my visits here. Anyway, for the heck of it, let me still share to you my island look.

UBUD MARKET

WANAGIRI HIDDEN VALLEY

ULUN DAN BERATAN TEMPLE

ULUWATU TEMPLE

PADANG PADANG BEACH

MOTEL MEXCIOLA

SEA CIRCUS

OMNIA BEACH CLUB

NEW PONDOK SARA VILLAS

Ok, so here’s the deal. The next time I will visit Bali, I promise I would be in better shape. Planning to explore this island next year again. Wanna join? G?

13 Reasons Why is an American series based on the 2007 novel with the same title by Jay Asher. The story revolves around Clay Jensen and his friend, Hannah Baker, a girl who took her own life after suffering a series of demoralizing circumstances brought on by select individuals at her school. A box of cassette tapes recorded by Hannah before her suicide details thirteen reasons why she ended her life.

These past few days, I’ve been having sleepless nights for reasons I can’t figure out. I know that there is nothing wrong with me because I still know what is happening around me and I am still in control of my actions. Although lately, I’ve noticed that I eat a lot, I don’t wanna go out of my room, I don’t want to talk to a lot of people and I would rather sleep than interact with others. I’ve tried searching symptoms online and this is what I found.

Everyone annoys you.

You’re hungry.

Your stomach hurts.

Your skin breaks out

Your heart races

You got headaches.

You’re always tired.

Cold sores or Canker sores pop up.

I got 7 out of the 8 signs that I am stressed. I am trying to figure out though where is this coming from. It could be from work, family, friends or love life. To be honest, I’ve considered talking to someone about my situation. You might find it weird but yeah, I’ve considered seeking professional help like a doctor or a counselor.

Don’t get me wrong, I have no plans of ending my life. I just want to find out where this “self phenomenon” is coming from. Just today, I tried listing names of people who might be responsible for this stress. I know I should not blame this to anyone but we have to face the fact that most of the time, this is triggered by a person.

Disclaimer: I will not be mentioning the real names of these people because I don’t want to cause any trouble. I just want to document this phase of my life by writing it here on my blog.

I visited Taiwan last summer (Yes, once again this is a late post) and the perfect way to describe this country is a mix of modern and olden days. The weather that time was pretty much the same with our weather in the Philippines. It’s sunny and you can feel the extreme heat when the sunlight touches your body. When it comes to fashion, Taiwan somehow got the same style with China and Hong Kong. Here are some of my OOTD’s during my stay there.

YEHLIU GEOPARK

CHIANG KAI SHEK MEMORIAL HALL

HOULI FLOWER FARM

JIUFEN OLD STREET

TAIWAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

TAIPEI 101

There are more places in Taiwan that I haven’t explored during this trip. I will definitely go back here and visit these places and enjoy the weather and the food.